


I Will Shelter You

by athousandcas



Series: I Will Shelter You [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Destiel - Freeform, M/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-13
Updated: 2013-04-22
Packaged: 2017-12-08 08:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/759313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athousandcas/pseuds/athousandcas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is alive, but he's not living. Not until a move to a new school somehow manages to weave an intricate tangle of lives and make everything shift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Get Too Close

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kind of testing things out with this fic. I'm not sure where I'll take it, but I liked whatever I formed in my head that created this chapter. I may make changes to the chapter, summary, or title because I don't think everything is quite aligned together yet. I hope you enjoy it at least :)

Castiel slowly opens his eyes as he wakes up. The sunlight is streaming through his blinds and he can hear birds chirping outside. He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling as he tries to remember what he has going on today. He turns his head to his alarm clock and bolts out of bed after seeing he was running late. Way late.

He stumbles across his room until he reaches his closet. He pulls on jeans and jerks a grey t-shirt over his head. As he wrenches the bedroom door open, he pulls on a dark blue hoodie and crosses the hall to the bathroom. He quickly brushes his teeth and takes a moment to look in the mirror. His dark hair is shooting in different directions and he groans as he realizes that no amount of water and flattening will fix this mess. Castiel sighs in defeat and heads back out of the bathroom, accepting that he will just have to deal with it for the day.

Castiel doesn't really care that he's late. If he had it his way, he would just accept that he was late and then take his time leaving, but he doesn't usually get his way. The only reason he hurries is because he doesn't want to give Zachariah more of an excuse to lecture him. Castiel thinks about this as he runs down the stairs, backpack slung on his shoulder, and strides to his car.

Today is the first day of his senior year in high school. So far, today really sucks, Castiel thinks as he drives down the road.

***

Castiel had just moved to Lawrence a week before school started. It didn't leave much room to adjust and he blames his tardiness on that fact. His family, the Novaks, is made up of his Uncle Zachariah, his sister Anna, who is three years his senior, and his older brother Gabriel, who is one year older than Castiel. Anna ran away when she was sixteen and Gabriel headed off to explore every corner of the world as soon as he had graduated high school. That left Castiel and Zachariah together for a whole year, at least. Castiel was definitely not looking forward to his upcoming senior year because of this fact. Also because he just wasn't good at making friends and with Gabriel gone, Castiel is expecting some lonely nights ahead.

He's thinking about Gabriel and his screwed up family as he walks down the empty school hallway. The first bell has already rung and Castiel is late enough that it will be noticed and marked down. Great, exactly what he needs - Zachariah is not going to be happy when he finds out. He reaches his first class, English, and stops, sucking in a breath as he braces for the terrible day he knows is lurking in his immediate future.

Castiel steps into the classroom quietly and turns around after shutting the door. All eyes swing towards him and he looks down then looks at the teacher. He mumbles an apology as he walks past and finds a seat - the last row, right by the window - and slumps back into his chair. The teacher doesn't say anything, just continues his boring, rehearsed introduction speak that he's probably given hundreds of times.

Castiel is looking out the window, hoping this day would move faster. It had only been ten minutes and it felt like it had been an entire day already. The teacher is up front, talking about the books they are going to read this year.

"That is the agenda for this year. Any of you read these yet?" He asks, after reading off the list. He smirks and continues as silence stretches out, "I didn't think you woul-"

He's interrupted by Castiel raising his hand at the last moment.

"Oh, uh," the teacher looks at his list of students, "Castiel...Novak. Which ones have you read?"

Castiel had still been looking out his window and finally turns his gaze towards the teacher up front.

"All of them," he says flatly.

"Wow, I guess we have ourselves quite the overachiever," the teacher says, not in an unfriendly manner. He smiles at Castiel and continues his lesson.

Castiel drops his eyes to his desk and waits out the rest of the class. By the time the bell rings, he's pretty sure that sitting through these classes could be classified as torture. He stops at his locker, spinning the dial when someone pushes him. It wasn't a hard push, but it caught him by surprise and he smacks his forehead into the locker door.

"What the hell, man?" He says as he spins around, rubbing his head.

"Hey, you the new kid? Casey or something?" The guy, the one who must have pushed him, is standing in front of Castiel with a rather menacing look about him. Castiel is pretty sure he hasn't even looked at this person before, so he isn't sure why he's being pushed around by him.

"Castiel, actually," he says through his teeth. He's still perplexed by the whole situation, but he does know that he is liking this guys less and less by the second.

"Well, I'm Alistair. I'm in your English class and I'm looking to do some...business with you." He flashes a quick smile as he leans his hand against the locker next to Castiel, trapping him between his arm and the wall.

Castiel narrows his eyes suspiciously. "That's great, but I'm not interested in anything, so thanks. But no thanks." He moves to duck under Alistair's arm, but finds a hand pushing him back.

"Look Cassie-"

"Castiel."

"- I need to pass English this year. And you have already done the reading, so why not just help me out. I'll be your first friend here at school. Friends help friends, right?" He smiles again and it sends chills down Castiel's spine. There is something wrong with this guy, but he can't put a finger on it.

"Well that sounds like quite the problem you have there," Castiel says with mock sympathy, "but I'm pretty booked for, well, ever. I don't want your friendship. And I'm not going to do your work for you."

Suddenly the smile slides off Alistair's face and he's stepping close to Castiel. He stares down at Castiel and it's all Castiel can do not to look away. "You're going to regret this decision, Novak." He looks over his shoulder at people passing by, shooting glances at them. "I'll give you some time to think about it. You may not want me as a friend, but you definitely don't want me as an enemy." With that, Alistair turns and joins some friends walking past, laughing with them as if nothing happened.

Castiel relaxed his posture after realizing he was tensed up and sighed as he turned back to his locker. He shook his head at Alistair's little speech. Castiel knew that they were nothing more than empty threats to make Alistair feel more like a man. He wasn't worried. It was still an inconvenience to his life, though. He let out another pained sigh at the thought of having to deal with this on top of everything else as he shut his locker and turned to head to his next class.

He looked up and started walking down the hallway when he caught a glimpse of some one looking in his direction. He glanced at the person again. Their eyes locked and Castiel felt like everything around him slowed down. The only thought circulating his mind was green, green, green. The man who had caught his attention had the deepest green eyes that looked right at him. He was staring so intently, Castiel felt like the man could see right through him and into his soul. The guy was walking towards the intersection of hallways that Castiel was approaching from an adjacent hallway, eyes still focused on Castiel. Castiel wasn't sure, but he thought he could see something, a flash of some emotion in the man's eyes, but he couldn't identify it.

He didn't have much time to really dwell on it, because right at that moment, Castiel walked straight into an open locker door. The impact shook him out of his trance and he hissed in pain as his hand reached up to rub his forehead and nose. He searched the faces of the students until he saw the one he was looking for. The man now had his back turned to him and was retreating down a different hall. Castiel was now in control of his mind and thoughts, so he was especially aware of how attractive the man was. He was tall, probably taller than Castiel, and was built with hard muscle that showed on his arms from the short sleeve t-shirt he was wearing. The shirt was tight and Castiel could see the plane of his back, moving with every step the man took.

Castiel didn't have much time to admire the view though because the bell had rung and he was now rushing off to class.

He did know three things though. One, he was late again. Two, he was going to have a monster headache if he kept up the trend of smashing his head into lockers. And three, he was definitely _not_ going to think about piercing green eyes looking straight into him.


	2. I'll Wave Hello to the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel is alive, but he's not living. Not until a move to a new school somehow manages to weave an intricate tangle of lives and make everything shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very short chapter, but I liked it. I've found out that it is much easier and more pleasant to write during the day rather than at three in the morning. Hope you like it and have a great day :)

Castiel doesn't see the man from the hallway again for the rest of the week. He's beginning to wonder if the guy is even real. 

At the moment, he's at a lake he discovered after the first day of school. Zachariah has been his usual annoying self, so Castiel finds himself sitting by this lake more often than not. 

The lake is a ways off the main road, at the end of a small path covered by overgrown trees. Castiel had wandered down it until it suddenly opened up to an oval lake. The sunlight filtered in through the surrounding trees and the silence was so complete, Castiel felt like he wasn't even on Earth anymore. 

Now, he sits at the edge of the bank looking into the clear water that shines and shifts in the setting sun. 

He finds he likes to think about things out here. Really think, not just worry and put his thoughts away for later. He thinks about all of his classes, how they're already getting into the heavy homework. He lets out a sigh when he realizes he should probably be working on it right now. He can't really bring himself to care at this moment. He thinks about his uncle and how he could use a good stab in the face once in a while. He lets those thoughts drift away and his mind wander. He jerks back to reality when he realizes he's been staring into the water, his mind lingering on green eyes and a kind face. 

What's his problem? He hasn't been able to stop thinking about a guy he doesn't even think exists. He shakes his head to try and rid himself of his thoughts. 

It doesn't work.   
***  
The thing about time is that it doesn't stop. That means Castiel has to eventually go back home. He reluctantly gets up from his spot, walking through the woods to his parked car. He's currently just outside of the main town, more in the country side. It will take him 20-30 minutes to get back home and by then it will be dark. He fumbles in his pockets until he finds his keys and is about to open his door when someone claps him on the shoulder. 

"Hey there Cassy." Alistair greets. 

Castiel jumps, his heart stuttering for a moment before he turns around. "Jesus Christ, what is your problem?" 

He's too shaken up from the scare to acknowledge that he's basically in the middle of nowhere, alone, with Alastair. 

Alistair grins and ignores the question. "Fancy meetin’ you here. What are you doing out here, all by your lonesome?"

Castiel is now fully aware of his situation. He needs to play it cool so he doesn't upset Alistair. "I was just about to leave, actually. So, if you'd excuse me." Castiel searches the door handle without turning around. Once he finds it, he quickly turns so that he's still facing Alistair. He pulls the door open but Alistair puts his hand on it, pushing it closed with a click.

Castiel takes a deep breath and looks into the other man's eyes. 

"I don't think I'm done talking to you, Cassy. " Castiel is about to respond when he's interrupted by a voice coming from behind him. 

"Is there a problem here, cas?"

Castiel sucks in a sharp breath because he just knows who it is behind him.  
Alistair looks over Castiel's shoulder, glaring at the other person. He slowly backs away from Castiel's car and starts walking down the road. 

Castiel let's out a slow breath through his nose, closing his eyes. He quickly turns around to face the man he hasn't been able to stop thinking about. When he opens his eyes again, the man is much closer than before, looking straight into Castiel's eyes. He stares back, forgetting about what he about to say. 

"I -," the man clears his throat and continues, "I'm Dean. By the way." His mouth quirks up as he searches Castiel's eyes. "Are you alright?"

Castiel realizes he was just asked a question and jerks his head as he comes back. "Uh. Yeah. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, dean." Very intelligent response.

"No problem." The man – Dean - smiles again. Castiel finds that he likes that smile. He also finds himself grinning back, stupidly, and quickly schools his face to a more neutral one. Dean continues talking, thankfully not noticing Castiel's internal conflict. "Do you need anything? You have a ride, so are you good now?"

Castiel nods and responds. "Yes, thank you. I believe I will live." He cringes at his words. Is thank you the only thing he knows how to say?

Dean lets out a short laugh. "Alright, that's good. I guess I'll see you around, Cas." Dean lingers for moment before walking away with a small smile on his lips. 

Castiel just stands there and watches him before shaking himself for his reverie and climbing into his car.   
It isn't until he's lying in his bed, staring at his ceiling that he realizes Dean called him Cas. He goes to bed with a smile on his face that night and something tugging at his mind that he refuses to call happiness.


End file.
